Survey of the relevance of mechanical engineering course curricula to the professional mechanical engineers

A number of mechanical engineering courses in the British Isles were reviewed and the literature was scanned for the different views and criticism of the available teaching systems. A survey of the opinions of engineers in Ireland about the academic engineering education which they had received was earned out by using a mail questionnaire formulated to obtain information about the industrial training component of the education process and the relevance of the ancillary and basic subjects 425 IEI members returned back the questionnaire, of which 282 member were mechanical engineers, and 70 I Mech E have also responded. This makes up 28% response rate. The respondents were from different age groups, courses backgrounds and occupying different jobs The majority of the respondents were satisfied with the education they received in general and they believe that it helped them in performing current duties. However, a large proportion of the respondents (49%) expressed their views on some weaknesses in the education process, among the important were 1) Some of the Subjects were not entirely relevant, 2) Absence of adequate industrial training schemes. The technical knowledge acquired by the engineers during their courses was the most important aspect they have gained from the university and decision making abilities and skills were of secondary importance in the courses of study. The responses of the sample population to the enquiries about the relevance and importance of the different subjects they learned at the university to their current duties indicated a significantly high degree of importance of computing, design and strength of materials among all of the groups surveyed However, other subjects were rated differently by the various generations of engineers. Those who graduated within last 25 years gave usually a slightly higher rating to all the subjects than other groups, the only significant exception was ergonomic subject which received a very low rating from the older generation. Though few respondents were graduated from sandwich courses, the sample population was strongly m favour of cooperative education

Producera mängdgrafer genom BIM : Produce quantity take-off graphs using BIM

Avvikelser i ett byggprojekt leder till bland annat förseningar. De kan även leda till för tidigt avslutadeaktiviteter. Oavsett blir detta ett problem då kontraktstiden för underentreprenörer är bestämda.Vad detta betyder är att blir en underentreprenör färdig för tidigt kommer det finnas en tidbuffert itidplan mellan färdig- och nästa aktivitet. Detta anses som en kostnad eftersom det inte utförs någotarbete. Blir en underentreprenör sen med färdigställande av en aktivitet blir detta ocksåproblematiskt då detta skjuter fram aktiviteter på den kritiska linjen. Förutsatt att de aktiviteternaligger på den kritiska linjen. Det ska förtydligas att fler former av avvikelser finns. Bland annatfelleverans, försenad transport, oförutsedda hinder under produktion m.m. En metod att åskådliggöra avvikelser tidigt efter initiering är att kontinuerligt under produktion följaupp aktiviteter med hjälp av mängdgrafer. Mängdgrafer är diagram som visar byggd mängd pertidsenhet och kumulativ byggd mängd. De ger en visuell bild över hur produktionen ligger till inuläget och med hjälp av dessa kan beslut fattas om ändringar i produktionen för att projektet skatidsmässigt åter hamna i fas. Mängdgrafer kommer i tre former. Planerade-, aktuella- &prognostiserade mängdgrafer. Syftet med detta examensarbete är att undersöka hur BIM-verktyg under projektering kan stödja ettprojekt under produktion genom att förutse avvikelser. Ifall avvikelser upptäcks tidigt kan resurserjusteras eller arbetstider ändras för att projektet färdigställs enligt tidplan. Studien visar att mängdgraferna kan utvecklas relativt enkelt men det krävs väl genomtänktplanering och struktur på arbetet. Det rekommenderas att samordna en bra arbetsmetod för helaarbetet från början till slut genom att ha en samordnare som styr över modellen men också andratjänstemän som känner till programmet tillräckligt bra för att stötta och avlasta samordnaren vidbehov. Studien visar också att det är viktigt att modellutvecklare levererar modellen med bra ochstrukturerad namnbeteckning för objekten. Detta för att enklare kunna koppla KPI-tal till korrektmängdgraf. CoClass-klassifikationssystem (projektnamn BSAB 2.0) borde ligga till grund förnamngivning av objekt.Deviations in a construction project lead to delays. They can also lead to prematurely completed activities. In any case, this will be a problem since the contract period for subcontractors is determined. What this means is that if a subcontractor completes its task prematurely, there will be a time buffer in the timetable between completed and next activity. This is considered a cost because no work is being done. If a subcontractor completes an activity late, this is also problematic as it displaces activities on the critical line. If the activities are on the critical line. It should be clarified that more types of deviations exist. Including delivery, delayed transport, unforeseen obstructions during production, etc. One method of avoiding deviations is to continuously monitor production activities using quantity take-off graphs. These graphs are charts showing built-up amount per unit of time and cumulative built-up amount. They give a visual picture of the state of production, and from there, decisions can be made about changes in production so that the project will follow the time schedule again. Quantity take-off charts come in three forms. Planned, actual & forecast quantity take-off graphs. The purpose of this degree project is to investigate how BIM tools during design phase can support a project under production phase by predicting deviations. If deviations are early discovered, resources can be adjusted or working hours changed to complete the project according to time schedule. The study shows that the quantity graphs can be developed relatively easily, but well thought out planning and structure are required. It is recommended to coordinate a good working method for the entire work from start to finish by having a coordinator who controls the model but also other officials who know the program well enough to support and relieve the coordinator if necessary. The study also shows that it is important that model developers deliver the model with a good and structured designation of object. This is easier to connect KPI-numbers to the correct quantity takeoff graph. CoClass classification system (project name BSAB 2.0) should be used as the basis for naming of objects

The use of audio self-hypnosis to promote weight loss using the transtheoretical model of change: a randomized clinical pilot trial

Background Few studies suggest the use of hypnosis in weight loss may be beneficial, especially when in conjunction with other lifestyle modifications or cognitive behavioral therapy. The primary aim of this study was to determine the ability of self-hypnosis audiotape to promote weight loss by measuring its effects on the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) of change stages and processes. Methods This study is a 3-week randomized double-blinded parallel controlled trial among adults who have overweight or obesity. The intervention group listened to a self-hypnosis audio file while the control group listened to a placebo audio file. Results Forty-six participants completed the 3-week follow-up visit. There was no association between progression across stages of change and self-hypnosis (X2(2, 46) = 1.909, p-value = 0.580). Gender, baseline BMD, and baseline S-weight had no effect on the association between stage change progression and self-hypnosis. The mean difference in weight at 3 weeks was −0.63 ± 0.43 kg in the hypnosis group and 0.0 ± 1.5 kg in the control group, independent t-test, p = 0.148. Conclusion Self-hypnosis was not associated with a progression in the TTM’s stages of change or with weight loss after 3 weeks. As this pilot study was underpowered, further research with larger sample size and an examination of the effect of various self-hypnosis content and duration is recommended

Sociodemographic characteristics of the participants (N = 419).

Sociodemographic characteristics of the participants (N = 419).</p

Correlation between the dissociative experiences score and other continuous variables.

Correlation between the dissociative experiences score and other continuous variables.</p

An investigation into the avoidability of adverse drug reactions using the LAAT and modified Hallas tools

An adverse drug reactions avoidability tool called the Liverpool ADR avoidability assessment tool (LAAT) was recently developed (for research purposes), and subsequently validated with mixed interrater reliability (IRR). We investigated the comparative IRR of this tool in an inpatient cohort to ascertain its practical application in this setting.The patient population was comprised of 44 ADR drug pairs drawn from an observational prospective cohort of patents with ADR attending a Weill Cornell Medicine-affiliated tertiary medical Centre in Doha Qatar (Hamad General Hospital). Using the LAAT, and modified Hallas tools, 4 independent raters (2 Clinical Pharmacologists, and 2 General Physicians) assessed and scored the 44 ADR-drug pairs. Agreement proportions between the rating pairs were evaluated as well individual/overall kappa statistics and intraclass correlation coefficients. We evaluated the weight of each of the 7 questions on the LAAT tool to ascertain its determinative role.Across 44 ADR-drug pairs, the overall median Fleiss kappa using the LAAT, and modified Hallas tools were 0.67 (interquartile range (IQR) 0.55, 0.76), 0.36 (IQR, 0.23-0.71) respectively. The overall percentage pairwise agreement with the LAAT and modified Hallas tools were 78.5%, and 62.2% respectively. Exact pairwise agreement occurred in 37 out of 44 (range 0.71-1), and 27 of 44 (0.53-0.77) ADR-drug pairs using the LAAT and modified Hallas tools respectively. Using the LAAT tool, the overall intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.68 (CI 0.55, 0.79), and 0.37 (CI 0.22, 0.53) with the modified Hallas tool.We report a higher proportion of possible and definite avoidability outcomes of adverse drug reactions compared with the modified Hallas, or that reported by developers of the LAAT tool. Although initially developed for research purposes, our report has suggested for the first time a potential applicability of this tool in clinical environment as well